What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to create a program within one year to help drinking water and wastewater systems prepare for and recover from threats. The program focuses on getting more water systems to join the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which collects and analyzes data about threats to water systems.
Who It Affects
Community water systems (public water suppliers that serve neighborhoods and towns), treatment works (facilities that clean wastewater), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
Key Provisions
- The EPA must develop a program to encourage water systems and treatment facilities to join and stay in the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Sec. 2(b)(1))
- The EPA must pay for costs that water systems need to spend to join or keep membership in the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Sec. 2(b)(2))
- The EPA must work more closely with the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center to collect and analyze data about threats to water systems (Sec. 2(b)(3))
- The program must provide tools, resources and materials to help water systems identify, protect against, detect, respond to and recover from intentional harmful acts or natural disasters like floods or earthquakes (Sec. 2(b)(4))
What Changes
Water systems will have funding available to help them participate in threat information sharing. The EPA will coordinate more directly with the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center on collecting threat data.
Important Definitions
None defined in this bill.
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1367
To establish a program to increase drinking water and wastewater system
threat preparedness and resilience, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 2023
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish a program to increase drinking water and waste-
water system threat preparedness and resilience, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water System Threat
4
Preparedness and Resilience Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.
6
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
7
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:56 Mar 17, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1367.IH
H1367
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•HR 1367 IH
(1) COMMUNITY
WATER
SYSTEM.—The term
1
‘‘community water system’’ has the meaning given
2
the term in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water
3
Act (42 U.S.C. 300f).
4
(2) NATURAL
HAZARD.—The term ‘‘natural
5
hazard’’ has the meaning given the term in section
6
1433(h) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
7
300i–2(h)).
8
(3) TREATMENT WORKS.—The term ‘‘treatment
9
works’’ has the meaning given the term in section
10
212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
11
U.S.C. 1292).
12
(4) WATER INFORMATION SHARING AND ANAL-
13
YSIS CENTER.—The term ‘‘Water Information Shar-
14
ing and Analysis Center’’ means the Information
15
Sharing and Analysis Center referenced in section
16
1435(d) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
17
300i–4(d)).
18
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after
19
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of
20
the Environmental Protection Agency shall develop and
21
carry out a program—
22
(1) to encourage, support, and maintain the
23
participation of community water systems, treatment
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:56 Mar 17, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1367.IH
H1367
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•HR 1367 IH
works, and other appropriate entities in the Water
1
Information Sharing and Analysis Center;
2
(2) to offset costs incurred by community water
3
systems and treatment works that are necessary to
4
maintain or initiate membership in the Water Infor-
5
mation Sharing and Analysis Center;
6
(3) to expand the cooperation and coordination
7
of the Environmental Protection Agency with the
8
Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center
9
with respect to incident data collection and analysis
10
of water sector-related threats; and
11
(4) to enhance the tools, resources, and mate-
12
rials of the Water Information Sharing and Analysis
13
Center for—
14
(A) monitoring the status of the water sec-
15
tor; and
16
(B) enhancing the preparedness of commu-
17
nity water systems and publicly owned treat-
18
ment works to identify, protect against, detect,
19
respond to, and recover from malevolent acts
20
(within the meaning of section 1433 of the Safe
21
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300i–2)) or
22
natural hazards.
23
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
24
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:56 Mar 17, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1367.IH
H1367
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•HR 1367 IH
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025, to
1
remain available until expended.
2
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:56 Mar 17, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1367.IH
H1367
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS